Jalees Ahmad, Al Hakam
Ramadan, the blessed month, is upon us. The ninth month in the Islamic calendar, it is a time Muslims throughout the world pay special attention to a spirit of devotion, reflection and self-improvement.
During this blessed month, we turn our minds and hearts towards purifying our souls, seeking forgiveness from Allah, and drawing closer to our Creator. The significance, value, and importance of Ramadan are immeasurable. With the beginning of Ramadan, a lot has already been said about the value of Ramadan over the dinner table at our homes or amongst friends, and you may have even read an article or two about Ramadan. However, what better words can do justice to describe the profound blessings it brings than the words of the Holy Prophetsa? The Prophet’s insight inspires our hearts and motivates us to fast with even greater passion and purpose.
“Hazrat Salman al-Farisira narrated that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said in a sermon, which he delivered to them on the last day of Sha‘ban:
“‘A great month, a blessed month, a month containing a night that is better than a thousand months, has approached you people. Allah has appointed the observance of fasting during it as an obligatory duty, and the spending of its nights in worship as a supererogatory practice.
“‘If someone draws near to Allah during it with a good deed, he will be like one who fulfils an obligatory duty in another month, and he who fulfils an obligatory duty in it will be like one who fulfils seventy obligatory duties in another month.
“‘It is the month of endurance, and the reward of endurance is Paradise. It is the month of sympathy, and mutual consolation, and a month in which the believer’s provisions are increased. If someone gives one who has been fasting something with which to break his fast, it will provide forgiveness of his sins and save him from Hell, and he will have a reward equal to his without his reward being diminished in any respect.’
“Some of them remarked to Allah’s Messenger that they did not all have the means to give [food] to the one who had been fasting with which to break his fast, and he replied, ‘God gives this reward to him who gives one who has been fasting some milk mixed with water, or a date, or a drink of water with which to break his fast and anyone who gives a full meal to one who has been fasting will be given a drink from my river Al-Kauthar [River of Abundance] by Allah and will not thirst till he enters Paradise.’
“‘It is a month whose beginning is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness, and whose end is salvation from Hell. If anyone makes things easy for His slave during it, God will forgive him and free him from Hell.’” (Mishkat al-Masabih, Kitab as-Saum, Hadith 1965)
By heeding the profound words of the Holy Prophet Muahmamad, may Allah bestow peace and thousands upon thousands of blessings upon him, we can unlock the true potential of this blessed month, and emerge from it as better, more disciplined, and more faithful Muslims. So let us embrace Ramadan with open hearts, and immerse ourselves in the beauty and majesty of this truly special time.